Throughout the year (and especially in fall and early winter), Vata’s presence brings qualities that can sometimes be tricky for us! This post is packed with many of the nuggets of wisdom I wish I had known years ago (when I was unknowingly feeding a progression of imbalance). To understand it all better, I share with you some foundational Ayurvedic background, then we will go more in-depth to address some common causes and effects of Vata imbalance, and finally I share ideas that you can implement into your own life! Let’s get into it. When we know better, we can empower ourselves to live better.
In Ayurveda’s ancient understanding of Life and the Cosmos, Vata is one of the three humors, or doshas, in our manifest Universe, and it is made up of the elements Air and Ether. (Ether is sometimes referred to as Space.) Vata’s essential qualities are cold, light, dry, sharp, rough, hard, mobile, subtle, and clear. Or in Sanskrit (in the same order): sita, laghu, ruksha, tikshna, khara, kathina, chala, sukshma, and vishada. These qualities come from the 20 Universal qualities, or gurvadi gunas (which are 10 pairs of opposites), that have been described since Ayurveda’s ancient times as an essential foundation to understanding all that exists, in our environments, our bodies and minds. I am going to refer to these qualities throughout this post.
Perhaps in fall and early winter, which is Vata’s signature season, you notice the shift to cold erratic winds, the crackle of dry leaves, the mental desire to shift from one thing to another, or maybe even the subtle spirits moving out and about– many of our cultural ceremonies that honor ancestors typically occur during this season.
When Vata’s presence is more pronounced in our environment, its qualities, which are in everyone (to different degrees depending on your personal constitution and current state of balance) can more easily swing towards excess in our minds and bodies.
How you experience this, has to do with Vata’s primary home– the colon– and its secondary homes, the ears, hips, bones, brain and sense organs of touch. (If you’d like to go a bit deeper into this Ayurvedic understanding, consider: sound and the subtle sensation of touch travels through the elements Air and Ether; your nervous system’s communications and your mind’s thoughts are mobile subtle objects. Try feeling into this and it may start to make more sense!). Common experiences of this are: dry skin; a dry/airy colon (e.g, constipation, bloating, gas); scattered thinking; motion sickness; disturbed sleep (especially waking at 3 am); popping or cracking joints; sharp pains inside the body; or challenging mental states involving fear or anxiety. This is by no means an exhaustive list– because due to its mobile + light qualities, Vata-provoked symptoms and conditions are the most numerous. Vata is meant to move, and it moves quickly and moves other things with it (including doshas Pitta and Kapha).
Let us not bemoan the presence of Vata in our lives though! (In Yogic wisdom: any aversions (dvesa) or attachments (raga) that we create will just result in further suffering.) Know that Vata is also the vital force behind the movement of our in-breath and out-breath; the movement of our heartbeat; the transmission of our nerve impulses; the peristalsis of our colon; and the rotation of the Earth, among many other things. When Vata is balanced in our mind, it beautifully supports our creativity, intuition, inspiration, adaptability, and the very flow of our subtle Life-Force, Prana. 🌿 Very important reasons to stay aware and keep it balanced!
Besides the increase of Vata in the fall climate, there are other common life situations that can increase Vata for a person. Some of these include: childbirth (due to the extreme changes of the body, and the element of space left in the womb); aging (~55+ are considered the ‘Vata years’ of life, as the body becomes drier and bones take on more space); a sudden loss of weight; traumatic experiences and events, especially with fear or fright (which can also happen from consuming news media); frequent exposure to sharp lights or sounds; excessive talking; over-thinking; excessive exposure to EMFs; excessive screen time, particularly before bed or just after waking up; and rapid-type or long-distance travel in cars, trains or planes, and even running.
Remember– Ayurveda is not concerned with labeling anything as “good” or “bad”. Often in the West, I see it misinterpreted as “rules” and “restrictions” — but this is not a true understanding of Ayurveda. Authentic Ayurveda gives us the qualities of Nature, her principles, and Cause and Effect. We always have a choice with what we do with this knowledge.
This brings us, perhaps most importantly, to the ways we take in Vata’s qualities through our very food and drink. In Western society, it is quite common to find food with Vata’s cold, light, dry qualities, such as: ice water; carbonated drinks; cold or frozen foods and drinks; airy leavened breads; dry and airy crunchy snacks (e.g, chips, crackers, popcorn), cold raw fruits and veggies, and anything with an excessive Pungent, Bitter or Astringent Taste, all of which, per the Ayurvedic understanding, contain some Air or Ether element. (These 3 tastes are especially prominent in certain strong-tasting ‘crowd favorites’ usually taken in excess such as chilis, garlic, onion, any Pungent spice, coffee, black/green tea, alcohol, or raw greens in excess, such as in a green juice.) Yes, a lot of this is ubiquitous. However, deep down we know we really don’t need to ‘follow the crowd’, if we wish to live more aligned with our True nature. We are so much more than what we think we are attached to. When we start loosening the hold of these old beliefs, new possibilities can open up for us. A much clearer, more aligned and authentic way of being.
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Putting the pieces together, you might come to realize that our current society, as it is today, creates many conditions for Vata imbalances. (While we could lament this fact, Yoga again reminds us that this is dvesa, aversion, and not productive.) This is a calling to have greater awareness and personal responsibility to take better care of our minds and bodies if we wish to live with more joy and clarity, for ourselves, our communities, and our Earth.
A part of me used to believe that I was doomed to suffer all manner of incurable mystery symptoms…it wasn’t true. But I only learned when I was really ready to learn and change. For you reading this, if you have any symptoms– I know you can feel better. It does take some courage and commitment to make some changes. You can absolutely do it.
There is a principle in Ayurveda that Like qualities will attract like qualities. When someone has been experiencing certain qualities in excess over a period of time, they will often be drawn to more of those same qualities, which fuels a progression of imbalance in their body and mind. (For example, a person with very high Vata may end up craving more bitter or crunchy foods, may fall into irregular sleep times and mealtimes, and may make themselves so ‘busy’ that they postpone meals or forget to eat.) It can be difficult to see the extent of this imbalance clearly in oneself, because excess dosha can significantly affect the mind’s perception of itself. For me, it was only after looking back on that time from a place of greater balance and mental clarity, I saw the patterns where I had unknowingly fueled an extreme doshic imbalance with my food and lifestyle choices. This is where a practitioner’s insight can come in, and the support from this can be invaluable.
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Warm, Grounded, Stable
Now I want to share with you some ways to support yourself, even without a practitioner, with another of Ayurveda’s foundational principles: Opposite Qualities Bring Balance. When you apply this foundational principle to your own Life’s gunas /qualities, you can be the director of your own experience rather than being ‘tossed around’ by it.
I must stress that the first part of any Vata-calming approach is to reduce or eliminate your exposure to the above-mentioned Vata aggravators (those that you have a choice with), as best as you can. Because if the causes remain present, they continue to create their effects.
Next, return to the qualities, or gunas of Vata– what is opposite of cold, light, dry, sharp, rough, hard, mobile, subtle, and clear?– Warm, heavy, moist, dull, smooth, soft, static, gross, and cloudy/viscous.
Consider what foods or activities possess these ‘opposite’ qualities that could be quite soothing for a temporary case of extra Vata.
Here are some examples:
Feeling cold and dry?– Have warm water, not cold, regularly throughout the day (separate from meals). Keep your body warm, especially your ears, neck, and abdomen (belly wraps or fajas are wonderful), and limit your exposure to extreme cold and wind. Apply warm pure oil (such as unrefined sesame) to your body with gentle, massage-like strokes.
Feeling a bit scattered and ungrounded?– Bring slowness and grounding into your movement practices; do not do too many things at once; take pause throughout the day for conscious breathing; create a daily routine or dinacharya with regular self-care practices, and regular meals and sleep-wake times; learn and do gentle pranayama such as nadi shodhana/ alternate nostril breathing; find a place of calm for yourself and tune in to your 5 senses; write in your journal; hug a tree; take child’s pose (balasana) for 10 breaths; finish screen time 1 hour before bed; apply oil to the soles of your feet, ears, and crown of head just before going to sleep.
Colon feeling dry or gassy?– Bring more moisture and grounding into your food, particularly in the form of warm cooked meals each day (and be sure to finish your last meal 3 hours before sleep); eat in a calm environment, minimize talking, and chew your food mindfully; use moderate amounts of supportive digestive spices in your cooking (e.g, ginger, coriander, cumin, turmeric, thyme, epazote) and make sure to use 1-2 tablespoons of ghee or oil per meal. Sweet grounding vegetables (from in the ground, or close to the ground) such as sweet potato, carrot, taro root, and squash are especially supportive.
In building our experiential awareness in this way, we start to see that we are a part of Nature’s dance of elements and qualities. Power to you in your explorations and shifts!
Remember, go at a pace that feels sustainable to you, and give yourself plenty of grace along the way. Let it be an offering to your higher Self. This is your journey.
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I hope you have found something here that was illuminating or supportive! If you know of someone else who can benefit from this knowledge, please share this with them. And– if you think you may have a Vata, or other doshic imbalance that is more long-term or chronic, I recommend you get the support of a practitioner. The right practitioner can identify the complexities and layers of the imbalances, and offer you the best individualized guidance specific to your constitution and life situation.
P.S– A Brief and Very Relevant Take on Caffeine and Vata
For all my coffee and chai lovers out there– I’ve been there! So I share this with love: in Ayurveda we understand that caffeine, and especially coffee, increases Vata substantially in the body and the mind. People report feeling much better in the long run when they can eliminate dependency on it. I, and many others, will share from experience, that it is liberating to be free from (being bound to) it, though parting with it can be a challenge in the beginning, depending on the person. (I recommend to gradually reduce it, rather than all at once— roasted barley or chicory makes a very nice alternative to sub with a little at a time.) And most importantly, nothing needs to be feared and nothing is actually lost. Why?– once your gut and adrenals (all part of your Agni) return to more natural functioning, it sets you up for more mental clarity and ease, more connection, a more naturally renewing energy throughout the day, better sleep, more supple skin, reduced bone pain, and more. Caffeine has a drying effect on the body, especially in the colon (despite stimulating bowel movements, which is really just a dependency in the body for a function that can happen quite naturally, if we could allow our body to function as it is meant to). It is important to note that removing attachments to caffeine (coffee, chai, or chocolate, whatever the case may be– for me it was all of them) does not mean removing comfort or ritual from your life. If it is comfort and ritual that we seek, we must know that we can find other ways to give to ourselves the comfort and ritual that will take us on the path towards greater balance, rather than feeding a progression of imbalance.
And I feel it is important to address some *cultural* norms here: these special caffeine-containing plants Coffea arabica (coffee), Camellia sinensis (tea), and Theobroma cacao (chocolate), have always been regarded with respect, reverence, and stories in their lands of origin. (Coffee: Ethiopia; Black/Green Tea: China; Chocolate: Mesoamerica and Amazon.) In traditional customs, these were never produced or “used” in the rather mindless quantities and ways that we have now made into a “cultural” norm in modern society. We must take a closer look at our habits of relating to these dear plants and ask– is it with awareness and intention? Is it truly serving us? For my Desi folks or any other Chai lovers– consider that many of our ancestors did not have black tea, and it was not readily available or being produced industrially on plantations (the way it typically has ever since the era of European colonization of the subcontinent). As ‘cultural’ or comforting as coffee or tea feels, for any of us in all of our beautiful global cultures– we exist beyond that. I got to find out for myself that I don’t actually require chai or coffee to ‘function’. This realization was an essential piece of the healing process for me and many others. And I am still happily Desi. 🙂
Take care, and Be Well.
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